Hypothetically
by EyesWideClosed
Summary: Remus Lupin and Lily Evans are dating... hypothetically. In which Remus is bisexual, not a whore. Lily is permanently menstruating. James has a cold-sore, not herpes. Sirius is unusually...serious and Peter is really confused. More so than usual anyway. Contains RLSB. LEJP and mentions of LERL and JPMM for plot purposes of course.
1. Hypothetically

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter. It pains me to say it, but it's true.

**Rated: **T, once again, because I never know where I'm going with these until I'm there and I want to play it safe.

xxxx

"Just tell him how you feel"

Remus rolled his eyes, "That's your answer for _everything _Lil"

The red head sighed, "Maybe because it's good advice. Ever think of that?"

He pretended to consider her words, "Hm, the thought _did _cross my mind, but then I remembered yours and James' sordid past and realised what a complete raving _hypocrite _you were"

She bit back a sigh, "Low blow Rem. Low blow"

"It's true. You ignore his exclamations of love for six years and the minute he moves on a gets a girlfriend you want in his pants. Where's _your _declaration of undying love, hm?"

"That's different" she said, eyes guarded.

"Is it?" He cocked a brow, "If by 'different' you mean ultimately much _much _simpler than my situation then yes, I concur"

She scowled, "How is my situation _any_ different than yours Remus? James is just as unavailable as your flea ridden mutt"

Remus rolled his eyes again. They'd had this conversation more times that he could count, "_Because _Lily, You know that James has been in love with you forever. If you asked him out he'd definitely say yes and trust me, the rest of us wouldn't hear the end of it for _months. _Sirius, mind you, would laugh in my face and avoid me and my pervert self for the rest of our extremely awkward friendship. If we even had one after that. So yes, our situations are _very _different" He turned to face her bodily now, his lean form shifting against the old oak they were lounging on, "You have a chance. I don't. It's as simple as that and I don't plan on deluding myself any further into thinking the situation is anything but ultimately hopeless. I like being friends with Sirius and it's going to stay that way. End of story"

Lily stared at him for a minute before breaking eye contact and tucking a piece of flyaway red hair behind her ear, "I see your point Rem. I just think you're wrong"

"I know," He whispered, voice softer than before, "I just can't risk it Lil. I can't _not _have him in my life you know?"

She nodded, "I get it. You know you don't have to worry about that with me"

He smiled, he knew he didn't. Apart from the marauders, Lily was his closest friend. She had been since second year when they slowly began to realise they were just about the only students who used the library and started studying together to cut their course load in half. Remus, being brilliant at Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration, but absolutely _pants _at Potions found Lily's guidance invaluable. Where Lily struggled with the more complicated Charms and Defence spells, Remus was brilliant at practical application of even the most complicated theory. Together they were unstoppable and with each other's help they both began to rise to the top of their classes, their only real competition each other. Neither of them being particularly competitive, they didn't mind and became fast friends regardless. They'd been almost inseparable ever since.

"I know Lil. I know"

She looked out towards the great lake, where she could see the sun setting over the water. She grimaced at the thought of going back to the tower where Mary McDonald would undoubtedly have her tongue down James' throat, "We should get back, it's getting late"

Remus nodded slowly and stood up, offering her a hand. She took it gratefully and they began the long trudge back to the castle, having wondered too far and talked too long to get back before dark. She sighed. When Remus was like this it made her heart ache for him, because despite his cynicism she knew he was right. Even though she saw the glances the dark haired Gryffindor threw her friends way when he wasn't looking and the way his friendly touches lingered, she hated to admit it, but it _could _just be a product of their close friendship. She understood his wariness to take it any further and test the waters because she knew, if it were she in his position, she would ultimately do the same thing. Nothing. She just wished she could help. She _hated _seeing him like this, all self-deprecating and despondent. She wished she could do _something _to help her friend-

"Oh!" she gasped, a brilliant smile breaking over her face. _That _could work.

Remus paused a few paces ahead of her, "You okay Lil?"

She caught up to him quickly, still grinning from ear to ear and tried to make her face as serious as possible, "Go out with me"

He stared at her blankly, "What?"

"Go out with me"

He stared at her like he was seriously questioning her sanity, "Lil, I'm in love with Sirius and for the record bisexualdoes not mean, willing to do anything with a pulse"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes I _know, _dumbass"

"Then why, pray tell, are you asking me out?"

"Because," she smirked, "I'm an absolute genius"

He frowned, "I'm not sure you know what the word genius actually means if you're using it in reference to this moment of insanity. What the hell are you on about?"

She had to bite back a moan of frustration, "Shit up you. It's _brilliant _I tell you"

He looked sceptical, "Are you going to explain this to me, because unlike you I may be a genius, but it doesn't mean I can _actually _read minds. That's just a rumour Pete came up with when I kept calling him out for stealing my potions homework" He smirked, "ruddy idiot would _always_ leave his grubby paw prints all over it"

Lily stared blankly, "Are you done?"

"Yes"

"Good"

She cleared her throat, "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by your token daily tribute monologue to your own brilliance-"

He glared at her.

"- we should go out. It would have the two-fold effect of making James unbelievablyjealous and revealing what that flea-ridden scoundrel of yours reallythinks about you. It's _perfect!_"

His brow furrowed in what Lily recognised as his 'considering' face. She smiled, at least he was _thinking _about it.

"What about James?"

She frowned, "I thought I just explained how this would help with the whole James situation?"

He rolled his eyes, "Not _that! _What I meant was how is James is going to react to all this, with me_?_"

And suddenly Lily got it, "Oh"

He smiled grimly, "Yeah, _oh_"

She considered this. James and Remus were good friends. Best friends. And Remus suddenly dating the girl he pined over for six years might be a bit of a dick move. She bit her lip, "That could be a problem…"

He smiled a little sadly and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It was a good plan Lil. James always has had an annoying habit of being the world biggest monkey wrench. He can't help it"

She paused and considered his words, "You know what, _screw him!_"

Remus started, "What?"

"Screw him! He doesn't _own _me. I can date whoever the bloody hell I want! He's moved on and so can I with whoever the hell I fancy!"

"Lily," Remus spoke carefully, obviously more than a little concerned for her sanity, "You _haven't _moved on. You _want _to date him remember?"

She waved him off, "I'm talking about hypothetical me Rem, not _actual _me"

He frowned in confusion, "You lost me"

She rolled her eyes, "Hypothetical me, which would be dating hypothetical you would be moving on and wouldn't _care _that James still thinks he has some sort of claim on me. Hypothetical you_, _being all liberal and into equal rights would respect and understand that in today's world of equal opportunity for men and women, no one has claim over another person and would completely discount Potter's idiotic, misogynistic claim over my person"

He blinked, "So what you're basically saying is that I would _hypothitcally _not give two shits about my best mate's feelings and go out with you anyway?"

She made her face as serious as possible, "With your left-wing values, it would be the only proper course of action"

Silence.

He looked at her dubiously for a few moments, then relented with a tortured sigh, "Fine. I'll do it, but if James _murders _me in my sleep I'm holding you accountable and haunting you for the rest of my days, you crazy woman"

She squealed and hugged him tightly, "You're the _best _Rem and this will work out for the both of us, you'll see!"

She grabbed his hand and proceeded to drag him back to the castle. He sighed, "I have a bad feeling about this"

"Oh shut it you giant ninny. Let's go get our men!"

xxxx

**AN: **Tada! I _love _Remus and Lily's friendship or well, er, the one in my head anyway. A small traitorous non wolfstar part of my brain actually thinks they would make a really cute couple. So this fic is my way of indulging that little bit of my person, whilst still shipping wolfstar and Jily. What do you think so far? Overused plot I know, but I couldn't get it out of my head. Tell me what you think and I'll update (with the first _real _chapter) within the next few days after I gauge the interest level.

Love you all.

Read and Review guys!


	2. Ignoring

**Disclaimer: **I once again do not own any of these characters.

**Rating: **T for safety because my mind tends to run off without my consent.

xxxx

"Let's go make out in the common room!" Lily grinned, bouncing in front of the portrait hole with her red hair flying around her.

"For the last time you daft ginger, _no!_" Remus groaned, loping up the last two stairs to the landing to catch up with her.

"Don't be a buzz kill Rem, most guys would jump at the chance to give me a good seeing to" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively and Remus nearly choked.

"What!? I thought we were talking about _snogging_?!"

"Potato, potahto my dear friend" she sniffed, studying her nails idly, as if she _hadn't _just said something wildly inappropriate and altogether unsettlingly crass.

"No I'm pretty sure it's more like potato, _freight train_ actually" He said dryly and she laughed, shoving his shoulder good-naturedly.

"Always so over-dramatic Remus. I can't believe I didn't figure out you were as gay as a maypole on my own. Now quit being a nancy, get in there and snog me like a man!"

He rolled his eyes, "BisexualLily, _bisexual _and I'm not being over-dramatic!" he snapped, sniffing and eyeing her surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye, "Hypothetical me would not be snogging hypothetical you just yet. It's too soon in our hypothetical relationship for that. Hypothetical me would want to take it slow…draw out the sweet blooming of our budding romance and let it blossom at the right moment with the _perfect_ first kiss"

There was dead silence for many uncomfortable moments as his words resonated in the air around them.

Lily blinked at him and looked a little disbelieving, "…What _are_ you some kind of girl?"

"Argh, _Lily!_" He groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"What?!" She asked, looking unrepentant.

"You're just so, Merlin! Look. It has to be believable or they'll see right through it before we even _begin_" he looked at her as seriously as he could manage with his face as red as his tie, "You can't _honestly _tell me you're the kind of girl that makes out with a guy she's just started dating in full view of anyone who would care to look, much less friends and respected peers?"

She shifted uncomfortably, "…Well, I've never dated anyone before hypothetical you! I mightbe…" she trailed off unconvincingly and Remus softened at the obvious tension in her features. It must be grating on her more than she was letting on, he realised, not having been with anyone before himself. She wouldn't know what to expect. He wondered if she had ever even kissed anyone before.

"Lily…" he began, but was just as quickly interrupted.

"Fine, I'm not that kind of girl. What do _you _propose then oh wise and genteel love-master?" Her confidant mask was back and Remus rolled his eyes and crinkled his nose in distaste at her phrasing.

"You make me sound like some kind of sick porny slave-master" he muttered

"Well if the shoe fits…"

"_Lily!_" he gaped. Really the _nerve _of that girl sometimes. It was times like this that it became perfectly apparent to him how well suited her and James were for each other. They were both hot-headed and horrendously inappropriate. If the shoe fits _indeed._

She lifted up her arms in surrender, but her eyes twinkled with silent laughter, "_Okay_ geez! So _sensitive_ this time of month… What do you suggest then oh _innocent _and _virginal_ leader"

Remus ignored the fact that he was _neither _of those things and made to answer her question in a way she couldn't possibly twist into anything crude or unseemly.

"We take it slow, gentle flirtations and hand holding at first. We'll let it progress naturally like a _real _relationship. It'll be believable that way, besides even if this is only a _hypothetical _relationship…" he paused and looked her in the eye, remembering the nervous tension in her face from before, "I still want to treat you right"

She looked startled and then visibly softened, "Thanks Rem, you really are very sweet" she said sincerely before smirking, "Why couldn't I have fallen in love with you? Things would be _so _much simpler"

He silently agreed and before he could get too caught up in the woes of his unrequited crush, he took her arm jauntily, "Ah, I know dearest. Love's a bitch I suppose. Well babe, we best go in then"

Lily groaned, "Oh god, the pet names are going to be a _thing _aren't they?"

"Not at all pumpkin-pie. Now let's roll"

xxxx

Peter Pettigrew was bored.

He had just beaten his third first year at wizards chess (the only students in _any_ year he could still win against) and was watching moodily as Holly Harpley ate the last of his chocolate éclairs from his position in the squishiest armchair by the fire. He was supposed to be on a date with her, but all she ever seemed to talk about were the latest fashion trends in Witch Weekly and why it was an unmitigated _disaster _that the stupid harpy's that wrote that drivel didn't ever offer beauty advice for witch's with yellow highlights in their complexions. He honestly could not give a flying Hippogriff's left tit either way, but it was apparently a subject of great importance to her. Needless to say when she'd complained she was hungry for the _billionth_ time that afternoon he'd jumped at the chance to offer her his chocolate éclairs (newly purchased from _Honeydukes, _the stupid bint) as a distraction. _Any _excuse to get her to shut her gob for a while was more than welcome. Gabby moron. She was far too much trouble to go through for a bit of skirt. It's what he got for dating a Hufflepuff he supposed. Prudes, the lot of them.

Suitably ignoring his date a she munched away on his favourite snack, he perked up when the portrait hole opened and a familiar lanky form caught his attention. He was about to wave Moony over when he saw a smaller red-head coming in behind him. He groaned as he took in the loads of books under their arms. Merlin, they were probably going to _study _together. There was no hope of tearing him away from that. He apparently found it _fun. _It was a real shame, Moony was rather a good sort when _she_ wasn't around to draw out his inner wet-flannel. He watched sullenly as they sat at one of the tables in the corner, closer than usual he thought, and started chatting amiably; disregarding the books that now sat on the floor collecting dust. His brow creased in confusion, this was unusual. The two of them usually _never_ talked when there were assignments to be done and musty old books to peruse. From this distance he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell they were getting along rather uproariously. Remus said something that made his eyes light and his hands gesture wildly and Lily laughed as she pushed his shoulder playfully. Peter's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in the next instance. This didn't seem right. The two of them had always been close, but the way they were interacting now seemed distinctly _flirty_.

Peter Pettigrew had grown to dislike Lily Evans over the years. She had always been cruel to James, rebuffed his attentions and called him names. James had still loved her of course, bought her nice things and asked her out every other week in the most romantic ways he knew how. But despite all this she never had a kind thing say to him. To Peter, she was undeserving of his best mate's affection and he was thankful when he finally moved on. Eventually as the years wore on he'd gotten sick of her rejection and started dating a shy little blonde named Mary McDonald at the beginning of this year. James was mostly indifferent to Lily now, not impolite to her, but not going out of his way to acknowledge her either. But as bad as she'd been with James, she had been even _worse _with Sirius. The rows those two would get into could be heard throughout the tower and the looks they'd give each other could freeze over hell. _Twice_.

Needless to say, none of this really endeared Peter Pettigrew to Lily Evans.

In short, the Marauders never really got on with Lily, she was too much of a stickler for the rules they so very much liked to break. Except Remus, of course. He was the exception to the rule, always the exception in one way or another. Being the most morally upright of the four, he never could just wipe people from his life. This included Lily Evans. Even _James_ had moments now-a-days where he agreed she was a raging monstrous she-devil. Well, he never said it in so many words, but the gist was clear. Remus on the other hand had apparently found his study soul-mate and had been best book buddies with her since second year.

None of them really noticed when the two of them became friends, just that they had been for a long while, or when they became something more than that apparently, if what his eyes were telling him was true. Peter eyeballed them suspiciously. It wasn't like they were snogging on the table or anything but they were definitely flirting if Remus's stare and Lily's faint blush were any indication. James and Sirius would not be happy to hear about this, especially considering the tentative stale-mate between Sirius and the vivacious muggle-born.

At the start of the year when she and Remus had been appointed Head Boy and Girl they'd apparently come to some sort of truce. Something about it being their last year and 'burying the hatchet', whatever that meant. Peter didn't quite understand, but assumed it was probably a muggle saying. Peter and James knew, despite both party's insistence to the contrary, that it was more about Remus than anything. Their mutual friend who they both wanted in their lives and who refused to pick sides. Peter loved Remus like a brother, but sometimes he wished he wasn't so noble. That he had chosen _them _over _her_. But that wasn't Moony, so he had kept them both and now they revolved semi-awkwardly around each other like planets caught in the gravity of Remus' sun. It wasn't hard to do as Remus really only hung out with Lily in the library and the Marauders never really came across her otherwise. It was a tentative balance, but one that had worked for them all year so far. They stayed out of her way and she stayed out of theirs.

Simple.

Until now apparently.

Peter watched as Remus leant in and whispered something in Lily's ear, before pulling back slightly to tuck a piece of wayward red hair behind her ear, lingering purposefully.

He thought about telling James and Sirius and the tentative balance they'd established over the last couple of months seemed to fracture and shatter in front of his eyes.

This was definitely going to be a problem.

xxxx

"Well, what if we swapped the explosive diarrhoea divers for nosebleed knockouts?"

"No that isn't good enough, not _nearly _good enough," Sirius muttered, wading through their piles of purchases from Zonko's Joke Shop, "We want the Slytherins crawling back to their cave of eternal celibacy with their tails between their legs, not waltzing away with a bad case of the ginger sniffles"

James seemed to consider this for a moment, before his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers, "We can still use the diarrhoea divers, we just need to change the location of the prank so they can be swallowed instead of thrown from under the invisibility cloak"

Sirius rolled his eyes and looked at him balefully. James for his part, looked completely unapologetic for what Sirius considered to be the most idiotic comment uttered as of yet in the planning phase of their latest prank.

"And how do you suppose we do that? Bribe the house elves to put it in their morning pumpkin juice?" he asked sarcastically, expecting an eye-roll and a muttered insult from his friend in response.

Sirius _really_ should have known better.

James smiled a slow, indulgently evil smile and Sirius eyed him warily, "Why have you got that god awful smile on your face for?"

"Because, you, my friend, are a bloody genius"

Sirius smirked, hoping he didn't look as nonplussed as he felt, "While I definitely agree, being a god amongst mere mortals and all-"

James rolled his eyes.

"-I still haven't the faintest clue what you're on about Prongsy old chap"

James smiled somewhat smugly and shrugged his shoulders, "You said it, not me. We'll bribe the house elves"

Sirius stared for a few tense moments to make sure he wasn't joking before he let his eyes widen comically, "Prongs!" He spluttered, gesturing wildly, "_James_" he tried again, gunning for serious, but ending up mostly looking constipated.

"Yes?" He asked innocently, all wide brown eyes and fluttering lashes.

"You _can't _bribe house elves you dunderhead" when James didn't show signs of comprehension, he continued, "I _lived _with house-elves for many unfortunate years and trust me when I tell you they cannot be bribed to do _anything _that would endanger their reputations as completely and utterly obedient to their masters, in this case, to Dumbledore. There is no _way _they would go along with it."

James still looked totally unaffected and Sirius squashed the urge to strangle him, "Listen carefully" he spoke, articulating his words carefully and more than a little patronisingly, "We. Cannot. Do. This. _You. .Turd!_"

Silence reigned for a few seconds before James spoke again, apparently having not heard the last two minutes of conversation, "So after we bribe the house elves we'll-"

Sirius groaned and buried his head in James pillow to stifle the now frighteningly strong impulse to strangle his insufferable quasi-brother. Thankfully he was saved from confronting his friend's mental retardation not a moment later by a very flustered and strangely grave looking Peter opening the door to their dorm.

"Pete" James said, startled, "I thought you were on a date with that Hufflepuff girl, the er, short one with all the hair?" He gestured somewhat vaguely to his own head and fell into an awkward silence.

Peter looked confused for a moment, before waving the question off hastily and coming to sit on James bed with the two of them, "Never mind that stupid bint. I have news and you're not going to like it"

Sirius blinked, "News?"

Wormtail nodded gravely, looking at them both in the eye, "News" he repeated as if the one word had a special significance they were immediately supposed to grasp.

They didn't.

So they sat in silence for a few moments as Wormtail collected himself. When he made no immediate attempts to speak, James cut in, "Ah Wormy, you said you had news mate?"

This seemed to snap him out of his daze and he cleared his throat, "Well I was just down in the common room and I saw something rather strange…"

"The three headed squirrel Davey Gudgeon was going on about?" he asked sympathetically. It was no secret that Wormtail was terrified of squirrels, once having had an unfortunate run in with one as a rat. Sirius himself had never been able to look at an acorn quite the same way since.

After a moment of appropriate horror over the squirrel incident, he scratched his head awkwardly, "Not quite guys" he spoke, somewhat reluctantly "It was… worse"

Sirius' eyebrows shot up, worse than a three- headed Squirrel? For Wormtail that was no small feat. When he then continued to splutter and mumble under his breath for a full minute James rolled his eyes and clipped him over the back of the head, "Spit it out Wormy you arse"

Wormtail gulped and it all seemed to rush out in one go, "_Ithinkmoonyandlilyaredating_"

Sirius blinked, "In English mate"

Peter took a deep breath, "I think Moony and Lily are dating"

Dead silence.

_Loud_ dead silence.

Sirius felt his breath stall in his chest and his throat dry up, he coughed awkwardly to find his voice, breaking the suffocating silence, "What?" James was quiet beside him and Wormtail looked ready to bolt at whatever he saw in his face. Sirius reached out and gripped his arm a little harder than intended to keep him there, "What do you mean? What _exactly _did you see?"

Wormtail winced and shrugged out of his grip and began to babble the way he always did when he was nervous, "Well I was just finishing a game of wizards chess when I saw them come through the portrait hole together, nothing suspect you understand, I mean they had _loads _of books with them-"

"Maybe they were just studying?" James put in quietly and Sirius would have been inclined to agree if not for the look on Peters face, "They always study together"

Peter shook his head, "I wish that was all it was James, but they didn't even _open _the books they brought with them, just started talking and laughing and smiling and not in the way we do, like the way my _parents _do with each other. They were _flirting _guys. Touching each other like it was the most normal thing in the world"

Sirius breathed in a deep breath to quell the sadness blooming in his chest. There wasn't much he could say to play that off like it was nothing and he wasn't quite sure why he wanted to. He didn't like Evans that was for sure, but he had always wanted Remus to be happy with someone who knew him and understood his lycanthropy. Lily was both of those things and more. She was _perfect _for him. He didn't know why he hadn't seen it before. Then James let out what could only be described as a _growl _next to him and he remembered.

"That utter _bastard_!" he roared

Sirius looked at him warily, "James-"

"What Sirius?!" he snarled, "_What!?"_

Sirius placed a calming hand on his shoulder which he shrugged off immediately, but Sirius continued unperturbed, "You're dating Mary, you _like _Mary remember? You said not two weeks ago that you wished Lily the best of luck finding a man"

James snorted, "I believe I said that, _'I wish that raging bitch luck finding a man who can put up with her mood swings for more than five minutes'_. It was a jab Sirius, a _nasty _jab"

Sirius raised an eyebrow challengingly, "Then you shouldn't have any problem with her dating Moony" His chest tightened at the words but he ignored it. He was good at ignoring things.

James floundered for a minute and looked to Wormtail for support. The mousy haired boy ducked his head and played with a loose thread on the duvet, resolutely refusing to meet his eyes.

"I don't" he grumbled finally, playing with his fingers in the way Sirius knew he did when he was lying, "It's just a bit of a shock that it's Moony you know? I never thought it'd be him"

Sirius paused for a moment and felt the now familiar melancholy seep back into his chest. He gulped, "Yeah, I know"

They sat in silence for a while and absorbed the gravity of Wormtail's revelation with thin-lipped resignation. Wormtail was the first to break the silence, "What are we going to do you guys?" He asked quietly, looking to James for guidance as he always did.

James shoulders visibly relaxed. He shrugged and made an attempt to smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. His anger had been quelled for now at least, "We act normal. Nothing's changed, not _really _anyway" he paused and looked at Sirius meaningfully, "You are going to have to actually _speak _to Lily on occasion now you know" he had the look of a man whose each word caused him physical pain and Sirius supposed it did.

Sirius grimaced, but nodded. He did realise. He didn't like the girl, even _less _now for whatever reason his mess of a brain deduced, but it was Moony he was talking about and he wouldn't ruin this opportunity for his friend. He didn't know how many beautiful, smart women there were open to dating werewolves, but he guessed they were few and far between. He couldn't screw this up for his friend no matter how much that strange impulse at the back of his mind screamed at him to run down to the common room and physical tear them apart _right this second! _

He sucked in a calming breath, "I know, it won't be a problem I promise"

James nodded, "And I'll…" he trailed off and cleared his throat, that same stagnant pain still in his voice, "I'll work on being okay with all this"

After a moment Sirius smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder, "I'm proud of you mate"

They looked at each other with small private smiles and the rest of the world melted away for a moment to make way for the passage of their mutual understanding.

Then a voice piped up, "So… we're okay with this?"

Sirius laughed and clapped him on the back in much the same way he did James, "Yeah Wormy. We're okay with this"

He ignored the twinge of doubt in his stomach.

It was okay.

He was good at ignoring things.

xxxx

Remus refused to ignore the twinge of doubt in his stomach as he watched Peter ascend the stairs, white-faced and far too fast to be natural.

He was no good at ignoring things. His long-standing infatuation with Sirius Black was testament enough to that.

He leant back in his seat, away from Lily and bit his lip. This was it; there was no turning back now. Wormtail knew which meant in a matter of minutes, Padfoot and Prongs would know too. He wondered how they would react. If he knew them as well as he thought he did then Prongs would be livid, understandably so and Sirius would probably be confused. He might feel a bit betrayed that he hadn't told him about Lily, but he'd be ultimately happy for him. He would care, but not in the right way.

Not in the way Remus wanted him to at least.

He met Lily's eyes over the table and smiled at her reassuringly when he noticed she was even more tense than he was. She seemed to relax a bit and smiled back at him gratefully, "Is it silly that I'm nervous?" she asked, eyes quietly beseeching.

"Not at all" he replied truthfully, his own fears catching up with him and sticking in his throat.

"Because I am" she admitted, "more than I thought I'd be"

She bit her lip and twiddled with her thumbs in obvious distress and Remus visibly softened. He moved to be in the chair opposite her, taking her hands in his. She looked startled and then a little sheepish, obviously not used to this kind of simple, yet intimate contact, "You're alright Lil. He'll come around. It just might take a bit longer than you expect alright?" she nodded, but was looking increasingly sad by the minute. That would not do. He smiled at her and shoulder bumped her fondly, "I'll be your boyfriend as long as you need me to alright? Happily so"

She looked up at him, her expression sadder if possible, "I wish you were you know" she whispered softly and he had the distinct impression she was admitting something secret and special, "I wish I could be happy with you. It would be so much easier, not feeling like this"

He had the sudden urge to hug his friend and when tears began to well up in her eyes, he did so unapologetically. She held onto him tightly and refused to let the tears fall, just breathing in the comfort of his friendly embrace. He rested his chin atop her head and spoke quietly in a manner he knew to be soothing, "I know Lil, but the pain isn't for nothing. You'll see that soon enough. At least you have that to hold onto"

She laughed bitterly and he smiled, happy he'd coaxed some kind of response out of her as she'd been eerily silent for a number of minutes, "The way you're feeling right now isn't forever. You need to remember that Lil so the sadness doesn't swallow you up. Can you do that for me?"

He felt her hesitate, but then he also felt her nod. They lingered like that for a few moments longer before she spoke, voice hoarse and broken, "How did I get so lucky to have a friend like you?"

Remus laughed throatily, disengaging himself and wiping back the wet hair from her face, "Just lucky I guess" he winked at her and she laughed a real joy filled laugh.

"Come on" she jerked her head in the direction of the portrait hole, "I'm feeling in the mood for a kitchen run. Nothing kicks depression quite like a bucket-load of Hogwarts finest chocolate pudding"

Remus moaned and licked his lips, "You are a woman after my heart Lily Evans"

She laughed and pulled him up by the hand, linking their fingers and not letting go. He looked at her in surprise and she winked, "Practice" she murmured and he bit back an eye-roll. Only Lily Evans could go from irrevocably depressed to playful and mischievous in under a minute.

They were out of the portrait hole and down the stairs before he realised it and he didn't even try to bite back his gasp of surprise and more than a little glee.

He grinned cheekily at her when she looked over at him curiously, "Well, well, Miss Lily Evans, the Head Girlout passed curfew?! And on an illegal kitchen run no less!" he tutted and grinned at her look of surprise. He continued to bait her ruthlessly, "Naughty, _naughty_. What would Professor Dumbledore say, I wonder, if he knew about these surprising turn of events?"

To her credit she didn't even flinch at her mentor's name. She pretended to consider this seriously for a moment, "Well Remus, I think he'd applaud me for taking the time out of my _very_ _busy _schedule to make sure that prefects are doing their jobs as per Hogwarts standards" she said coolly, "oh and for recruiting the help of the Head Boy in this endeavour also. A great example of school spirit for sure, not to mention house unity. Shows _initiative_"

She grinned back at him and he suddenly had a new found respect for her, "You know you would have made a great Marauder" he said, still somewhat in awe, "We could have used your talent for talking your way out of things"

She shrugged, "It was too much fun giving you all hell for breaking the rules" she faltered momentarily, "I do regret it now though. Things might have been a lot easier if I was nicer to you lot…"

He smiled at her a little sadly and squeezed her hand, "Come on. There are two bucket-loads of chocolate pudding with our names on it just waiting to be feasted upon!" he licked his lips comically and she laughed joyfully as he tugged her faster along the corridor.

"Well, then lead the way good Sir"

"As you wish my Lady"

xxxx

It was past twelve before he got back to the dormitory and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw three sets of bed-curtains closed for the night. That was one thing he could leave to the morning at least. It had been an emotionally charged day and he was in desperate need of a good night's sleep.

He shucked off his shirt and pants, too tired to even reach for his pyjamas. He all but fell into bed and let out a sigh of relief as his face hit the soft feather pillow. He barely had enough energy to pull the covers up around him before sleep started to pull him under.

He was almost asleep when heard a voice from far away that wrenched him back into consciousness. He turned away from the wall and towards the bed next to his when he realised the voice had spoken his name. He looked blearily at Sirius who was sitting up in bed, looking more nervous than Remus had seen him in a long while.

Remus was suddenly awake and aware, "What's wrong Pads?"

There must have been something in his voice or face that suggested how worried he was because Padfoot was quicker to reassure him than he otherwise would have been, "Oh no Moony, I'm fine. It's nothing like that" he paused and seemed to struggle with his words.

Remus sat up and looked at him warily, "Is this about Lily?" He asked quietly and Sirius's head snapped up in surprise.

Sirius blinked and his tongue flicked out to lick his lips. Remus made sure not to follow its path with his eyes, "Yeah, ah, how did you know I knew?"

Remus smiled at his awkward phrasing and shrugged, "I saw Peter running off looking like he'd just seen a squirrel and assumed he'd seen us"

Sirius laughed softly and looked him in the eyes. His smile melted away and he licked his lips again, "I want you to know I'm happy for you" he said finally and Remus ignored the pain in his chest for the minute. He'd reflect on it later, as always. He was never very good at ignoring things, "you deserve to be happy Remus, with whoever makes you happy"

It wasn't hard to pretend he was touched by Sirius' words because in one sense he was. The part of him that loved Sirius like a friend was always glad when he showed such unwavering support. It was a testament to how deep his love for Sirius ran that he was able to find both a little joy and peace in his words. True love has many layers and its emotions are never black and white. He had learnt that much in his eighteen years. So he smiled at Sirius and focused on drawing emotions from the part of him that was smiling instead of crying, "Thanks Sirius, you don't know how much that means to me"

They held gazes for longer than Remus expected before Sirius broke away with a small, nervous smile he didn't understand, "Well, night Moony"

Before he could think to say goodnight back, Sirius had closed his curtains and the seventh year dormitory was once again quiet. Remus blinked and lay back, letting the darkness settle around him and cloak his confusion.

Before he could dwell on it any further, he was asleep.

xxxx

Sirius let his gaze linger on Remus longer than he wanted, getting thoroughly caught up in those luminous post-moon eyes. They were golden and bright in the dark of the room and unlike any other eyes he'd ever seen. He remembered Remus telling him once that it was because the eyes were gateways to a person's soul. What's within them would always shine through. In his case, the golden glare of the wolf would always illuminate his naturally hazel eyes. Remus thought they were unsettling and too bright. Sirius disagreed, he thought they were perfect.

This might have explained why, to his utmost surprise, he felt the soft heat of arousal coil in his abdomen as Remus gazed at him with a kind of intense focus that made his skin flush. A small part of his brain called bullshit, the same part that had wanted him to march down to the common room earlier, but Sirius was far too intent on ignoring that part of his brain to care much what it was saying. He swallowed harshly and offered Remus a small smile in an attempt to play off the stare that had lingered too long. Before he could say something stupid to muck it up further, he turned away from his friend and closed his curtains.

He waited with baited breath, not daring to move until he heard the rustle of sheets that indicated Remus had gone to bed. When his breathing evened out after a couple of intense minutes Sirius sighed and lay back in his own bed, staring at the ceiling blankly, praying for sleep and knowing he'd get none. He ignored the shameful arousal that was still coiling in his belly. Honestly_, _who got hot from a pair of _eyes_?

He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes and sighed when thoughts of Remus and his eyes continued to play through his head despite his attempts to berate their existence. He almost groaned as thoughts of Remus' eyes turned into less innocent thoughts about the curve of his cupids-bow lips and how they would look doing things _other _than chewing on his quill or biting his lip.

Smashing his head back against his pillow as many times as it took to vanquish the images; he took a calming breath and resolutely ignored the images running through his head and more importantly, their implications.

After a few tense moments of glaring at the ceiling his mind quieted and he exhaled gratefully. He would weather this apparent obsession with his friend's eyes and the inappropriate sexual thoughts they stimulated the same way he did everything else. With mindless determination and a suitable distraction.

He was _sure _he could find a nice girl with golden eyes. He ignored the traitorous part of his brain that piped up that he knew there was no one with eyes quite like Remus'. He resolved to get some sleep.

It was okay.

He was good at ignoring things.

xxxx

**AN: **Chapter two, tada! Did anyone notice the POA reference?! Huh, did ya?! (The movie I mean). I love Lily and Remus, I have to say. I love their close, platonic friendship and I hope I haven't stepped on too many toes making them a bit friendly. It's all platonic love you see. I also made a deliberate choice to make James the less mature of the two between James and Sirius because I think that Lily would have been responsible for a lot of the maturity in James and I want that to come through. I also wanted Peter to play an active role and not just be the tag-along with no thoughts of his own. He does have thoughts and I hope his position comes off clearly here. He was their friend before he was their enemy and I wasn't going to write him like he was a dick from the beginning, though I did drop a few hints as to how his view of his friends might have become warped enough to betray them like he did. I characterised Sirius ad Remus as deliberately opposite in order to highlight the opposing ways they confront the same situation. Remus confronts his feelings, Sirius buries them. It's all very interesting I think, but strangely enough my favourite character at the moment is Lily. Remus always speaks to me louder than the others, but I'm really starting to get Lily. She's becoming less of an enigma to me as the story progresses. It's kind of exciting watching her unfold. Anyway, rant ended. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed!

Read and Review guys. It's much appreciated.


End file.
